You've been training through the off-season or early season, and now it's time to get serious about your half. But jumping straight into a 12-week race prep block without the right foundation is where most age-group triathletes get into trouble — they're either underprepared for the volume or they burn out before race day arrives. The Endurance Nation Half Prep plan builds the bridge between your early-season fitness and the specific demands of 70.3 race preparation.
Who This Plan Is For
This plan is designed for triathletes preparing for a 70.3-distance event who need a structured ramp into their race prep block. Choose the level that matches where you are right now:
Beginner — You're coming back from injury, returning to triathlon after extended time off, or preparing for your first 70.3. You need a conservative, confidence-building ramp.
Intermediate — You've done this distance before and you're looking to improve on your last performance. You have a solid training habit but need to rebuild volume and intensity across all three sports.
Advanced — You're chasing an age group podium or a significant PR. You can handle higher training load and want to enter your race prep block at a high level of readiness.
What You'll Do
This is a four-week block focused on building endurance and fluency across swim, bike, and run. It's not discipline-specific — the goal is to develop your all-around aerobic engine, get your body adapting to triathlon-level training volume, and dial in the weekly rhythm you'll need to sustain through race prep. Volume and intensity build progressively across the four weeks, finishing with swim, bike, and run tests plus a long challenge ride on the final weekend so you know exactly where your fitness stands heading into your 12-week block.
This plan isn't about being perfect. It's about getting your schedule, your fatigue management, and your consistency dialed in so that when race prep starts, you're ready to absorb the work — not playing catch-up.
How It Fits Into Your Season
This plan can be repeated twice consecutively. If your race is 20+ weeks out, run through the prep block twice before starting your 12-week race prep plan. If you're 16 weeks out, one cycle gets the job done. Either way, you'll enter race prep with the endurance base, training rhythm, and recovery habits to get the most out of those final 12 weeks.
What's Included
All structured workouts are built in the TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Builder, so they export directly to Zwift, Garmin, and Wahoo — no guessing at intervals. Each week begins with a coaching note explaining the purpose of that week and what to pay attention to. A Quick Start guide is attached to Day 1 covering how to follow the plan, key terminology, and how to set your training zones.
Have a question before you start? Email your #1 question to [email] and I'll get back to you within 48 hours.
👋 Hey, I'm Patrick McCrann, head coach at Endurance Nation. I've been coaching endurance athletes for 20+ years, and I race the same stuff you do: 30 Ironman finishes, a Big Buckle at Leadville, 5 BQs and a top 10 at Unbound 200. EN has helped 1000s of age-group athletes get faster with the time they actually have. Whether you're following one of our training plans or working with me directly, the approach is the same: smart structure, no junk miles, and coaching that respects your life.